I grabbed one of the team hats and tucked it in my back pocket as Paulie asked, “And the boy?”
Mine, but who knows what would happen next right now.
I put my phone back and waved to him. “Stay tuned. Look, I got to go.”
Reporters caught me. I talked about having a good game and how I was open to all offers with the right amount of perks.
One reporter asked about Georgie and the boy in the Pirates shirt.
I pressed my hand to my heart and said, “I thought I lost the love of my life. Wish me luck in having a second chance with her.”
I avoided mentioning my son. If they asked me about him, I didn’t want to admit I had no idea about his name or any details.
“You’re too good to pass up,” the female reporter said, looking me up and down.
Good. I avoided the topic and sauntered up the aisle. My stomach had butterflies like I was nervous, as made my way toward the lot where families reunited.
Maybe I was on overdrive. I’d finally found her again and now I had a few hours to be near her.
My wishes were about to come true as I opened the door.
There was Georgie. Her brown hair still in a ponytail, plain white shirt that hid her beautiful orbs and sexier hips that I could hold onto when I rammed myself into her.
And yes, that was going to happen.
I’d have her again. That wasn’t destiny or fate or any such bullshit. Having her again was my future, and I didn’t need a crystal ball to know that.
She had her arms crossed as Rogers stopped me from going to her side.
I paused as my teammate said, “You just made it sound like you’re in love.”
I needed her, but the last thing I needed was locker room gossip, so I shrugged, “It’s what the media likes, and who knows, maybe it will help increase the offers and make me look more stable.”
“A shark as always,” Rogers said and headed back into the stadium.
I finally made it to the top of the walkway and saw how she clutched the boy’s hand. I took off his Pirates hat and put a Sooners hat on his head.
He smiled at me as his mother said, “I’ve been googling your life for the past few hours.”
If I'd known her full name years ago, we’d not be here now because I’d have found her. I placed my hand on her back to direct her toward the player’s parking lot so we might get out of there.
She didn’t stop me as I said, “Don’t believe everything you read.”
She paused near the door and covered her son’s ears as she asked, “So you didn’t get caught with a…prostitute…in LA?”
My entire body froze as that moment replayed in my mind. She’d been a gift from Rogers that I’d never wanted.
“There is more to that story.”
Her face was red as she asked, “How?”
Four years ago, Rogers had called my newfound celibacy a dry spell. I’d not wanted to date since Georgie, but he’d been trying to help me out and resorted to hiring some woman who then had her friend snap a picture of us and got it in the news. I’d been escorting her out while assuring her that she’d keep the money my friend had paid. Then we’d walked right into a group of reporters and she'd given interviews without me.
I squared my shoulders now and said to the one person this mattered to. “I didn’t touch her except to get her out of the hotel room, fast.”
“Hmm,” Georgie said, with her arms crossed.
I reached for the door. “We’ll talk more when we’re out of here.”
She let her son’s ears go. “Where should we meet you?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked and pointed out to the lot.
She pointed backward and jangled her keys. “We’ll get in our car and meet you at a restaurant.”
I held the door for her. “We’ll send for your car or I’ll drop you off later.” The pair of them walked with me to my silver Audi R8 Spyder and I opened my passenger seat as I said, “Get in.”
Her face looked like I'd just told her to eat dirt off the ground. “You don’t have enough seats.”
Her boy, whose name was still a mystery, tugged on her arm and stepped inside as he said, “Mom, we’ll make it work.”
Smart boy. He hopped into the tiny back with his surprisingly long legs. I watched as she took the seat next to mine and then I closed the door.
Once I revved the engine, I didn’t ask the burning question in my mind of her last name, where she’d been, or my son’s name.
Instead, I asked, “How old are you?”
“Six,” he answered.
I glanced in the mirror as I took off. “And what’s your name?”
“Jeremy,” he said.
I tapped the wheel as we peeled out of the lot, and I did the math. The name I didn’t recognize, but six would be about right.
“That’s what I thought.”
He asked, as his mother glared at me, “You did?”
I met Georgie’s sidelong look as I drove them toward my hotel. It was the best place to have a private conversation, which I hoped she understood.
“Yeah, you look exactly like my dad.”
Her lips were thin as she said, “He looks like you.”
Was that an admission?
She’d had my son without telling me, but I just said, “Then I recognized the family resemblance.”
I never thought I looked like my dad, but I wasn’t about to argue as that seemed silly. Georgie’s lips were tight as she locked that gaze on me like she could burn into my skin, but said nothing.
Jeremy then asked, “So you know you’re my father?”
Her face went almost purple as I drove into the lot of the hotel nearby. “I need your mom to confirm that.”
She glanced out the window as I pulled into valet and asked, “Why?”
I leaned closer to her. Up close, she was sweet enough to wet my
